Unfair but balanced commentary on tax and budget policy, contemporary U.S. politics and culture, and whatever else happens to come up

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

National Tax Association Spring Symposium

I have made it, via Acela, to that supreme paradise among garden spots, the Holiday Inn Capital in southwest Washington, DC. I'll be presenting my foreign tax credit paper tomorrow (Thursday) and my coauthored financial institutions paper Friday, then scurrying back to NYC. Hurrah for Acela adding free wireless service on their trains.

UPDATE: Both talks appeared to be well-received, though in each case I was trying to cover 30 minutes worth of material in 15 minutes. (Luckily, I talk fast.) There appeared to be some buzz around my Zelig-like appearance in the Elena Kagan photo that apparently received wide distribution. That plus a $2.25 Metrocard will definitely get me a one-way ride on the NYC subway. I will try to post the slides for the two talks early next week.

Now no more trips for a full 2 weeks, at which point I will head to Belgium to defend American academe's vibrant if new-fangled "law and economics" or "new view" style of analyzing legal transitions, before a possibly skeptical audience of European tax professors who may be keener on the old time religion.

About Me

I am the Wayne Perry Professor of Taxation at New York University Law School. My research mainly emphasizes tax policy, government transfers, budgetary measures, social insurance, and entitlements reform. My most recent books are (1) Decoding the U.S. Corporate Tax (2009) and (2) Taxes, Spending, and the U.S. Government's March Toward Bankruptcy (2006). My other books include Do Deficits Matter? (1997), When Rules Change: An Economic and Political Analysis of Transition Relief and Retroactivity (2000), Making Sense of Social Security Reform (2000), Who Should Pay for Medicare? (2004), Taxes, Spending, and the U.S. Government's March Towards Bankruptcy (2006), Decoding the U.S. Corporate Tax (2009), and Fixing the U.S. International Tax Rules (forthcoming). I am also the author of a novel, Getting It. I am married with two children (boys aged 16 and 19) as well as four (!) cats. For my wife Pat's quilting blog, see Patwig’s Blog.